Hans Zimmer and a Dragon Ball live-action movie

[mecha3000]

Did you guys hear that beautifully breathtaking score by HANS ZIMMER in that announcement video?!!! How can you still be opposed to a live-action movie after that? After Super Hero beat Idris Elba's Beast at the box office? After seeing the enormous impact of Dragon Ball after Toriyama passed away? After seeing One Piece succeed in live-action (which naysayers kept saying would NEVER happen)??? And now, hearing that beautiful piece of music by Hans Zimmer, which I could easily see being a soundtrack for an official Dragon Ball live-action movie. It's been 17 YEARS this April since Evolution released. Almost TWO DECADES!!! It's time for a new live-action movie, scored by the great Hans Zimmer.

So, are we ready to have this conversation again?

[M16U3L2015]

I will continue to stand firm in my belief that we do not need a live-action Dragon Ball, especially because I think animation is a better medium for telling stories like those in Dragon Ball than live-action.

[JulieYBM]

Hiring Hans Zimmer to appear legitimate for an international audience makes this whole video feel like the smallest, slimiest endeavor ever lol

If a live action Dragon Ball project happens, it's going to need to have a good production team. Whether or not that happens, I don't know, but it would be nice if it did.

[Saiya6Cit]

That is a beautiful thought.

Hans Zimmer is awesome, I would totally support choosing him for DB music

[Yellow Flower King]

That is a beautiful thought.

Hans Zimmer is awesome, I would totally support choosing him for DB music

Hans Zimmer did Kung Fu Panda along with John Powell, they can do Wuxia. They can do a Chinese Legend inspired anime.

[Hellspawn28]

I still doubt a new DB live action movie is going anytime soon.

[GhostEmperorX]

Well I'll be... they actually got the guy himself into this franchise. Guess they were really desperate to break the curse.
(And the arranger is Tom Lucas, haven't heard of that one.)

[90sDBZ]

I think a live action series similar to Netflix One Piece would be better. They could cover a lot more story in an 8 hour season vs having to cram it into a 2 hour movie.

Seeing how One Piece turned out has given me faith that live action DB could work if the creative team actually cared, and also had a big enough budget to do it justice.

Evolution was pretty much the worse case scenario as far as an adaptation could've gone, because it was made for all the wrong reasons, and James Marsters was the only good thing about it. That movie shouldn't be used as a reason not to adapt DB again. It shouldn't even be a factor.

[funrush]

They could do Dragon Ball, but it's tricky to navigate as far as like how to make it not look stupid. The One Piece live action is straddling the line it's kinda giving fanfilm at points but for the most part feels surprisingly well done for how demanding of a story it is. With One Piece the fact that it looks kinda goofy doesn't really detract from it because the story itself has a lot of silliness in both its plot and character designs. We will see how well it handles future arcs because East Blue is easily the cheapest one to do and each subsequent arc pre-timeskip has more and more crazy shit.

I will say that the One Piece live action does give me confidence that they could pull off something like OG Dragon Ball. But that's a different monster because even though you can do it with an aesthetic people would accept, there's the whole issue of finding a child who can be a convincing Goku/ChiChi/Krillin.

[PowerPhantom245]

I think a live action series similar to Netflix One Piece would be better. They could cover a lot more story in an 8 hour season vs having to cram it into a 2 hour movie.

Seeing how One Piece turned out has given me faith that live action DB could work if the creative team actually cared, and also had a big enough budget to do it justice.

Evolution was pretty much the worse case scenario as far as an adaptation could've gone, because it was made for all the wrong reasons, and James Marsters was the only good thing about it. That movie shouldn't be used as a reason not to adapt DB again. It shouldn't even be a factor.

It's really annoying and frustrating that whenever people discuss about another attempt of live action adaptation, people respond to as "Live action shouldn't happen, because Evolution sucks!". That shouldn't be factor what so ever.
I would like to see a proper live action adaptation, but as a TV series (Netflix).
I think Dragon Ball might be difficult to adapt compare to One Piece or other anime/manga.

[Hellspawn28]

DBE was a flop both critical and commercially. I think most people in Hollywood have zero interest in it, or maybe Toriyama prohibited any further live-action adaptations of Dragon Ball. Telling Shueisha not to sell the live action movie rights to anyone.

[mecha3000]

DBE was a flop both critical and commercially. I think most people in Hollywood have zero interest in it, or maybe Toriyama prohibited any further live-action adaptations of Dragon Ball. Telling Shueisha not to sell the live action movie rights to anyone.

Yeah, DBE was a flop back in 2009. 2009!!! That is so long ago now. I was in middle school back then and now I'm going to be 30 next year. Like, come on, it's more than enough time for them to give it a second try. And 2009 was too early anyway for a DB movie because they tried to make Evolution like the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and it failed. But now, with manga and anime overtaking comic books and even live-action movies in some cases, the time is now for a new Dragon Ball live-action. And I never even thought Hans Zimmer would do any music for Dragon Ball, but now that he has, I want him to be the composer because it's no longer out of the realm of possibility.

Hey, if One Piece can get a successful Netflix live-action approved by Oda and Naruto is supposedly getting the Shang-Chi director for a live-action movie, why shouldn't the thing that is the reason One Piece and Naruto EVEN EXIST get a live-action???

[Kid Buu]

Hoenstly, this is just anecdotal but I feel like DB is even more popular than it was back in 2009 when Evolution came out. 2009 was kind of when the IP was a bit in a slump content wise. Since 2013, it has really changed.

That said, I agree that a series would better than a film as there is just so much story to choose from!

[mecha3000]

Hoenstly, this is just anecdotal but I feel like DB is even more popular than it was back in 2009 when Evolution came out. 2009 was kind of when the IP was a bit in a slump content wise. Since 2013, it has really changed.

That said, I agree that a series would better than a film as there is just so much story to choose from!

I'm completely fine with a series too, maybe even a Netflix live-action one. Maybe, that's what they'll do after they finish Netflix One Piece. Also, you're completely right about 2009 not exactly being a great year for Dragon Ball. And unlike when people bring up 1999 for Toonami and stuff, I was ACTUALLY OLD ENOUGH in '09 (12 years old) and completely remember what it was like that year for Dragon Ball. So yeah, Dragon Ball is definitely a lot more popular now, hell, anime in general is. So, again, let's get the live-action already!!! I'm still surprised none of the fans on this forum seem to give a crap that HANS ZIMMER of all people did a soundtrack for Dragon Ball. Like, his soundtrack didn't at all captivate anyone to think "Oh, I need him to score an entire movie now." I'd be there day one with a large popcorn and soda if that ever happened, assuming movie theaters still exist whenever this would hypothetically happen.

Also, it's funny how Hans Zimmer also scored Man of Steel because everyone is always saying Zack Snyder should direct a Dragon Ball movie. I mean, his Superman vs. Zod fight was essentially Goku vs. Vegeta so the groundwork is already there!

[Kid Buu]

Hoenstly, this is just anecdotal but I feel like DB is even more popular than it was back in 2009 when Evolution came out. 2009 was kind of when the IP was a bit in a slump content wise. Since 2013, it has really changed.

That said, I agree that a series would better than a film as there is just so much story to choose from!

I'm completely fine with a series too, maybe even a Netflix live-action one. Maybe, that's what they'll do after they finish Netflix One Piece. Also, you're completely right about 2009 not exactly being a great year for Dragon Ball. And unlike when people bring up 1999 for Toonami and stuff, I was ACTUALLY OLD ENOUGH in '09 (12 years old) and completely remember what it was like that year for Dragon Ball. So yeah, Dragon Ball is definitely a lot more popular now, hell, anime in general is. So, again, let's get the live-action already!!! I'm still surprised none of the fans on this forum seem to give a crap that HANS ZIMMER of all people did a soundtrack for Dragon Ball. Like, his soundtrack didn't at all captivate anyone to think "Oh, I need him to score an entire movie now." I'd be there day one with a large popcorn and soda if that ever happened, assuming movie theaters still exist whenever this would hypothetically happen.

Also, it's funny how Hans Zimmer also scored Man of Steel because everyone is always saying Zack Snyder should direct a Dragon Ball movie. I mean, his Superman vs. Zod fight was essentially Goku vs. Vegeta so the groundwork is already there!

Yeah it's mental it just seems anime has really blown up in popularity this decade. Last year, Demon Slayer outgrossed any superhero film! Never thought I'd see the day an anime film does that.

[mecha3000]

Yeah it's mental it just seems anime has really blown up in popularity this decade. Last year, Demon Slayer outgrossed any superhero film! Never thought I'd see the day an anime film does that.

I know, man! That's why I think it's so asinine when people are still gatekeeping and being purists completely against Dragon Ball being live-action. Just like fans saying Dragon Ball would never work in CGI, but then Super Hero ended up amazing, in my opinion and topped the American box office. Sure, it failed in Japan, but it succeeded elsewhere. I think that made Japan realize even more how valuable Dragon Ball is worldwide. And with how they're handling Dragon Ball lately, I actually wouldn't be surprised if by 2030, we either have a Dragon Ball live-action project already OR it gets announced to be in production.

[L3anD3RStar]

I think a live action series similar to Netflix One Piece would be better. They could cover a lot more story in an 8 hour season vs having to cram it into a 2 hour movie.

I agree, but I think any adaptation would need to condense the story a lot. The One Piece adaptation is kind of the first live action anime to get it right and it had two dedicated fanboy directors and also Oda himself helping with the writing and casting.

Sadly we missed the time when Toriyama could’ve had direct input into a potential Dragon Ball movie. It’s too bad. He would’ve absolutely loved to walk around Capsule Corp, see Grandpa Gohan’s house, help find the perfect live action Goku.

Oda liked Inaki because of his energy and his smile.

I think whoever the live action Goku would be would need something similar. Not the same, obviously, but Goku’s goofy side and his ferocity need to go together.

[JulieYBM]

Hoenstly, this is just anecdotal but I feel like DB is even more popular than it was back in 2009 when Evolution came out. 2009 was kind of when the IP was a bit in a slump content wise. Since 2013, it has really changed.

That said, I agree that a series would better than a film as there is just so much story to choose from!

I'm completely fine with a series too, maybe even a Netflix live-action one. Maybe, that's what they'll do after they finish Netflix One Piece. Also, you're completely right about 2009 not exactly being a great year for Dragon Ball. And unlike when people bring up 1999 for Toonami and stuff, I was ACTUALLY OLD ENOUGH in '09 (12 years old) and completely remember what it was like that year for Dragon Ball. So yeah, Dragon Ball is definitely a lot more popular now, hell, anime in general is. So, again, let's get the live-action already!!! I'm still surprised none of the fans on this forum seem to give a crap that HANS ZIMMER of all people did a soundtrack for Dragon Ball. Like, his soundtrack didn't at all captivate anyone to think "Oh, I need him to score an entire movie now." I'd be there day one with a large popcorn and soda if that ever happened, assuming movie theaters still exist whenever this would hypothetically happen.

Also, it's funny how Hans Zimmer also scored Man of Steel because everyone is always saying Zack Snyder should direct a Dragon Ball movie. I mean, his Superman vs. Zod fight was essentially Goku vs. Vegeta so the groundwork is already there!

I don't think Hans Zimmer is a good composer, so I haven't had anything to say about this piece. I've listened to it a grand total of one (1) time and do not remember it at all or really have a desire to immediately check it out again. I am also turned off by what feels like cynical pandering from Iyoku Akio to a sense of being legitimized by hiring Hans Zimmer to write a piece of music and then advertising his name as if it legitimizes Dragon Ball under his control.

[L3anD3RStar]

Also, it's funny how Hans Zimmer also scored Man of Steel because everyone is always saying Zack Snyder should direct a Dragon Ball movie. I mean, his Superman vs. Zod fight was essentially Goku vs. Vegeta so the groundwork is already there!

I… respectfully disagree with this take. Superman Vs. Zod was extremely violent, with 9/11 inspired visuals, tons of collateral damage, piles of dead bystanders, and just generally a grim and horrifying tone.

Goku vs Vegeta was very different. It was a joyful thing, like two dancers who realize they have just found their perfect partner. Someone who cares as much as they do about their favorite thing, and they are excited to do more of it. It’s kind of the moment the two of them fell in platonic bro-love. And it happened when they were all alone in a wasteland, with no distractions or innocent lives to worry about.

It’s a very different kind of tone. I don’t think Zack Snyder would be interested in that degree of whimsy. He admitted he didn’t like comic books before he read Watchmen, which is the wrong way to go about it, and I can’t see him enjoying Dragon Ball, unless he got to make it really dark and serious and violent, which…. No thank you.

I don't think Hans Zimmer is a good composer, so I haven't had anything to say about this piece. I've listened to it a grand total of one (1) time and do not remember it at all or really have a desire to immediately check it out again. I am also turned off by what feels like cynical pandering from Iyoku Akio to a sense of being legitimized by hiring Hans Zimmer to write a piece of music and then advertising his name as if it legitimizes Dragon Ball under his control.

I do think Hans Zimmer is a good composer, his soundtrack for Pirates of the Carribean is what I think of when I think of what swashbuckling sounds like, but I agree that it’s strange for Iyoku to trot out a Hollywood talent like it’s a flex. Dragon Ball is one of the most recognizable brands on Earth. It doesn’t need Zimmer attached to be a big deal. Besides, somewhere out there is a wildly talented, probably mostly unknown composer who would trade a limb and maybe a couple organs for the chance to work on Dragon Ball. I think they should be trying to find that person.

I get the stakes are really high for Iyoku. Without Toriyama, the main thing his company exists to handle is kind of gone. If nothing else, the Zimmer thing does prove he has his eye set on bigger, more expensive hollywood style productions. Maybe he’s reaching out to the major studios behind the scenes. But as long as he’s settling for whoever the biggest name to call him back is, I don’t think he’s going to get very far.

[Hellspawn28]

After Super Hero beat Idris Elba's Beast at the box office?

To be fair, that was not a high bar. Considering that Beast was nothing to write home about (I liked it as a sucker for killer animal films, but still).